


Dysfunctional

by ApolloLoki97



Series: A Dysfunctional Senior Year [1]
Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Air vent clint, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Avengers Family, Dead Aunt May, F/M, Gen, Happy Avengers, Infinity War What is that?, Iron Dad Spider Son, Loki actually gives great advice, Post-Black Panther (2018), Post-Spider-Man: Homecoming, Post-Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Protective Tony Stark, Senior Year Peter, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Who likes Thanos anyway?, avengers mission, field trip to stark tower, we like happy stories so Infinity War doesnt exist
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-23
Updated: 2018-08-23
Packaged: 2019-07-01 13:59:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 17,109
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15775512
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ApolloLoki97/pseuds/ApolloLoki97
Summary: “Dude, you’re complaining about your family. Which would be normal if they weren’t the freaking Avengers.”Peter's second family is a bit dysfunctional.Almost two years after the sudden death of Aunt May, Peter is living with the Avengers at Stark Tower under the guardianship of Tony Stark. Between juggling his avenging and senior year, Peter is exhausted, but he has his family behind him. When his class gets invited to tour Stark Tower, Peter isn't thrilled and spends all week dreading it. Throw in a mission here and a couple of gods there and Peter Parker is having one hell of a week. Will he manage to stay sane until its over?------Or the typical field trip fic with a little extra thrown in.This is my first Marvel fic and I love this prompt so much, so here's my take on it.





	1. The Announcement

Peter Parker had never wanted to damage school property more than in this moment.

The non-stop ticking of the clock on the far wall was drilling into his skull. He had been up late the night before helping Tony repair Sam’s wings. They had gotten caught in some cables after a malfunction. Tony had assured the teenager that he could have done it alone, but Peter knew the coding for the pack better than Stark did. It was nearly four a.m. by the time the young superhero got to bed. When F.R.I.D.A.Y. roused him only a couple hours later he wanted to sink into his mattress and never leave it. His defiance only lasted a few minutes before Tony was pounding on his door and ordering him to get up. “You got an hour before you gotta be at school, kid. Up!” Peter had sent him a glare through the thick wall that would have made Aunt May scold him for a good ten minutes when she was alive.

An hour later, he was stumbling into Midtown Tech and by the end of the day, all he wanted to do was sleep and never get up again. Ned nudged him from his left and gestured to the lecture in front of him. Something to do with thermodynamics. He hastily wrote the notes down, his handwriting barely legible. _Tick…tick…tick._ Peter suppressed the groan that threatened to leave his throat. He could feel Flash staring at him and tried to ignore him. Unfortunately, that was never possible. “What’s wrong, Penis? Up late working on your secret internship?” Peter heard Flash and his idiot friends laughing quietly, but Peter didn’t even have the energy to even think of a retort, let alone a good one. He vaguely heard Ned tell Flash to leave them alone. It felt like seconds, but soon the bell rang, and his day was finally over.

“Hold on class, one more thing!” Mr. Stadler said as they all stood. Peter did let his groan of frustration out this time as his head hit the table top. Ned patted his back in comfort. “Yes, Mr. Parker, I’m sure it’s torture to stay a minute longer,” Stadler said with a laugh. “I just wanted to let you know that this year’s field trip is one that I don’t think you’ll want to miss. We’ve been selected to go and tour Stark Tower!” Peter straightened up as if someone had just thrown cold water on him. “Oh, that got your attention, Peter,” Stadler said. “These specific tours only happen twice a year, so be grateful. I have your permission slips here! Grab one on your way out.” Stadler dismissed them then and instantly Flash was at Peter’s side.

“Well, well, well, it looks like the cat will soon be out of the bag, Parker.” Flash grinned. “I can’t wait to see the look on everyone’s face when we find out you’re a liar.” Flash just laughed and followed his cronies out into the hall. Peter was a statue when Ned approached him and gave him one of the slips.

“Ironic, isn’t it? That you have to get a permission slip just to go home?” Ned tried to laugh, but it sounded forced. Peter slowly came back to himself and looked down at the sheet in front of him.

“Why me?” he said simply. Ned hauled him off his stool and pulled him from the classroom.

“Think of it this way, Peter…” Peter looked to his best friend hopefully. “Actually, I have nothing to say, sorry man.” Peter groaned again and made his way to his locker. He hastily pulled his bag and jacket from it, slamming it shut a bit too hard. Ned looked on with sympathy. “It’ll be fine, just as long as nobody finds out about your night job.” Peter sighed with a laugh that sounded a bit delirious.

“Ned, people finding out about Spider-Man is the last thing I am worried about. You know how they get!” Peter exclaimed as they headed for the front doors. “They live to embarrass me. Even when I’m saving their lives from giant robots, they still make jabs…Look, I love them, they’re my family, but this is not going to be fun for me at all. Why are you shaking your head?” Peter asked.

“Dude, you’re complaining about your family. Which would be normal if they weren’t the freaking Avengers.” Ned said, grinning broadly. “I’d give them a bit more credit. I mean covert is basically their MO, right?”

“Tell that to the God of Thunder and the purple android with an infinity stone in his forehead.”

“Point taken,” Ned said. The two friends exited the school and Ned patted him on the back in farewell. Peter just wanted to run away for at least a week. He’d tell Tony he needed some time to think about May. Or he could just go into hiding. Maybe they’ll think he got kidnapped or something. Then there were the ventilation shafts…though Clint tended to like those as well… A horn sounded from across the street, pulling Peter out of his reverie. Peter jogged across the street and got into the back of the car. Happy turned around and lowered his glasses.

“What’s up, kid? You seem distracted.” Peter handed over the permission slip. Happy looked it over before he started laughing. Peter sunk into his seat and glared at him. “I’m sorry, kid, but this, this is just great. Oh, don’t look like that, come on it’ll be fine. You’re about to gain some respect, let me tell you that. Think about it like this: Spider-Man is loved by many and now Peter Parker gets to be too.”

“But I like being invisible as Peter Parker. The attention is for Spider-Man. Hence the mask!” Peter said. “Most people don’t even know Tony took me in after May died. Not going to be able to hide it now.”

“And that’s what you want? To hide it?” Happy asked. Peter yawned and pushed his hands through his hair making it stand on end.

“It’s not that I’m ashamed or anything. But you know how the press is. Remember when Bucky found that stray dog and we kept it for a night because the pound was closed? It was front page news! Can you imagine if the press found out they got a stray kid and kept it?”

“Peter, I hope you know nobody thinks of you as a stray. You do know that, right?” Happy asked, sounding concerned.

“I know, Happy. Maybe I’m just overreacting.” Peter trailed off, eyes closed.

“Talk to Boss when you get home. Now put your seatbelt on before I make you walk.”

* * *

 

Peter nearly fell asleep three more times on his way home.

Happy had to go get Rhodey from the airport, so he dropped Peter off out front. Peter dragged his feet through the front doors, avoiding the weird looks he always got from onlookers whenever he came through the main lobby. He saw two guards walking towards him, new ones from the look of it, but he managed to get his pass out before they got there and scanned it. F.R.I.D.A.Y. greeted him immediately. _“Peter Parker. Access level: Five. Welcome home Peter, did you have a good day?”_ at the recognition from the AI and the announcement of the highest security level, the guards backed off. Peter yawned again.

“It was…eventful, Fri,” Peter said as he passed through the gate and into the private elevator with another swipe of his pass. F.R.I.D.A.Y. spoke to him as he rode up.

 _“Boss is in his lab, shall I let him know you’re home?”_ Peter shrugged.

“Might as well.” The rest of the trip took less than a minute and then he was let out on the three-story penthouse level of Stark Tower. The top level held Peter's and Tony and Pepper’s bedrooms along with a guest room Ned occasionally stayed in. The middle level was the common room with living room, kitchen, and entertaining space. The floor below that could be seen by the glass floor at the base of the stairs was one of Tony’s main lab. The rest of the labs that he shared with Helen Cho and Dr. Banner and whoever else was invited, were below. A series of multiple floors made up the private laboratories that held the more classified objects for the Avengers.

Tony spent the most time in the smaller one tinkering on random additions to the Iron Man armor. Peter had space in there as well where he worked on web fluid and other miscellaneous projects. His main lab with his Spider-Man suits was below as well. Then, of course, he had access to all of the R&D labs in the main SI headquarters.

Peter dropped his backpack by the elevator and made for the kitchen to find something to eat. He found some leftover pizza and heated it up. After inhaling his food, Peter headed for the lab, permission slip in hand. As he approached the door, he could see Tony fidgeting with what looked like one of Natasha’s stun batons. Peter typed in the code and entered. Tony looked up as he walked in. “Hey kid, F.R.I.D.A.Y told me you were home. Anything interesting happen today?” Tony asked.

“Oh, you mean this?” Peter waved the permission slip in the air. Tony looked sheepish. “So, you did know, great.” Tony put down the weapon and swiveled on his stool.

“Of course, I knew. Pepper told me that Midtown had applied for a tour and I thought it was a great idea.”

“Did you now?” Peter deadpanned. “And did you ever think to ask me before you invited my entire class to the Tower?” Tony considered it for a moment.

“Nope,” he said with a grin. Peter glared back. “Ah, come on, bud! Don’t mope, it’ll be fine.” Tony said hopping off the stool and snatching the slip from Peter. He signed it and handed it back. “Look, after everything in Vienna and Sokovia and yes, I suppose New York as well and then whatever Thor broke in London, we need to be…people friendly.” Peter raised his brows.

“People friendly?” he echoed, and Tony smiled and nodded. “And you think giving a tour to a bunch of nerdy kids will help people forget that the Avengers are prone to destruction?”

“See, now you’re getting it!” Tony said throwing his arm around Peter’s shoulders. “Besides, the Avengers will be a small portion of the tour, well maybe half, but it’s really about SI and all the work we do here.” Peter knew he was referring to all the ARC technology SI had developed over the past ten years. “Plus, I think after these past few years, we could use just a bit of normal, don’t you think?” Peter sighed and nodded.

“Yeah, you’re right.” Tony smiled at the kid, but then grabbed him by the shoulders and looked him over.

“You’re a wreck,” Tony observed as the teen wavered on his own feet. “I told you this would happen. Go on upstairs and I’ll let you know when dinner is ready.” Tony said ushering Peter out.

“Who’s cooking?” Peter asked, half out the door.

“Not Vision,” Tony called, and Peter saluted before finally making his way to his room. As soon as his body hit the mattress, he was out.

* * *

 

Tony exited onto the main residence floor.

The main private floors for the Avengers were just as nice as the ones above them. All equipped with everything they needed. Tony still had the location upstate, but it was more of a secondary station. Once Steve and Tony had patched things up, they all decided they needed to be together and everyone preferred the city. Still, on the occasional weekend, the team found themselves flying upstate for some peace and quiet.

Tony found Steve and Bucky in the kitchen talking over coffee mugs. It was still so bizarre for Tony to see two super soldiers just casually hanging around. Even with Barnes’ metal arm fully on display, he was a picture of pure ease. He had made the former Sargent a new one after he blasted the last one to pieces. It was vibranium, a small gift from T’challa. 

“Afternoon.” He said as he joined them.

“Stark.” Bucky greeted. “Peter back yet?” Barnes and Peter had grown close since the team was reunited. Tony thought it was because Peter was a great distraction from Bucky’s own thoughts. It was rare when you saw one without the other while at the Tower.

“Kid is exhausted, he’s asleep,” Tony said as he grabbed a cup of coffee for himself. “He’s not too thrilled about his upcoming field trip.”

“So you told him then?” Steve asked.

“Well, no, he found out at school. I had been meaning to tell him, but I just…”

“Chickened out?” A new voice came. Tony turned to see Scott lounging in an armchair just off the kitchen. “I get it, man, I try to avoid telling Cassie things all the time. But she usually sees right through me.”

“Can’t imagine why Lang,” Tony said as he downed his coffee. “The kid is freaking out,” Tony said to them. “Do me a favor and try not to embarrass him. Better yet, just try and be as normal as possible if you happen to run into the class. And I know that is difficult for most of you," Tony said with a pointed look at Scott who looked offended as he bit into some kind of rope candy. “Just…do your best,” Tony said as way of goodbye and then went to find Pepper. Hopefully, she would be of better help.

* * *

 

Peter woke to the subtle voice of F.R.I.D.A.Y.

“What was that?” he said groggily.

 _“Boss wanted me to let you know that dinner is ready. Everyone is heading to the main dining room.”_ Peter sat up confused. It was a rare occurrence when they all ate together, apart from the Asgardians whom Peter hadn’t seen in a while. Thor was doing something or stopping Loki from doing something, he was never sure.

Peter shrugged out of his jacket and stretched his stiff muscles, ran his hands through his hair a few times and then made his way down to the common room on the recreation floors that they all shared. The food smelled good, so it was either Steve, Natasha, or Bucky who cooked it. Vision tried, he really did, but he could never get it right. Peter entered the room. It wasn’t really a dining room, more like a big room with random tables and chairs everywhere. Some were proper setups, some were comfy chairs that had small end tables. They always ate buffet style, so Peter piled up his plate with food and made his way to a seat. He sat between Wanda and Bucky who were engaged in a conversation about flying cars of all things.

“I’m telling you, Maximoff, Stark’s father made one,” Bucky said around a mouthful of pasta.

“Well then where is it?” Wanda mused. “Because if he managed to do that in the forties, I would have thought that someone would have figured it out.”

“Wakanda has flying cars. Well, I’m not sure they’re really _cars_. More like flying vehicles.” Peter interjected. Wanda gestured to him with her fork.

“See, perhaps Stark wasn’t as brilliant as he thought back then.”

“You talking about me?” Tony said as he joined them in a chair across from the trio.

“Your father, actually,” Bucky said.

“Oh. Why?” Tony said.

“I thought he was a great man.” Bucky shrugged.

“Yeah, you and everyone else Barnes. There are a few things my dad did that I still appreciate. The others?” Tony made a vague gesture with his hand as he shoved pasta into his mouth. “It’s all relative.” Bucky just shrugged as everyone knew that when Tony started to talk about Howard, it was smart to just drop the subject entirely.

Peter ate in silence, listening to the many conversations around him. He did notice that Clint was missing. His eyes automatically looked to the ceiling as if he could see into the air vents, but he couldn’t hear the usual shuffling around. “Where’s Clint?” Peter asked anyone.

“Barton headed up to the farm for the rest of the week,” Bucky said.

“In-laws, apparently,” Tony said. “But don’t worry he said he’d come back for your field trip.” Tony teased. Peter groaned and fell back into his seat, his empty plate resting on his lap. “Chin up, Pete.”

“It’s as if you guys live to torture me,” he mumbled.

“Uh, what else is there to do?” Sam said from the table behind him. “The world hasn’t almost ended in a while and we’re bored.”

“Funny, Wilson.” Tony grimaced. “Kid, as I said earlier, you’re worrying too much. Think of it like a mission, people friendly, remember?” Peter rolled his head to the right to look at Tony. “Okay, olive branch. You make it through the tour while allowing us to show up occasionally and we will spend the entire weekend upgrading your suits.” This peaked Peter’s interest.

“Suits? As in the Iron Spider too?” he asked.

“Absolutely. Not sure if you’ll ever need that level of armor, but better safe than sorry. Besides,” Tony grinned. “it’s fun.” Peter considered him for a moment before sighing.

“Fine, but you have to agree to take out the curfew shut down on my suit.”

“Deal.” They shook hands and then Peter got up to get seconds.


	2. A Dangerous Distraction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter was trying to keep his mind off the impending field trip of embarrassment.
> 
> Luckily, someone somewhere is always doing something potentially devastating.

The field trip was on Friday, so he had three days to physically and mentally prepare himself for what was to come.

Ned wasn’t being much help. Neither was MJ.

When Peter had told MJ his secret, she wasn’t surprised, but then again, she wasn’t one to show surprise at any occasion. She merely nodded, said, “yeah that makes sense.”, and continued to study for their economics exam. That was shortly after the Vulture incident and Peter had to admit it was nice having two people to talk to about all this who weren’t living at the Tower.

The three of them sat together in the cafeteria going over details. “I don’t get why you’re so embarrassed for people to know that Tony took you in. Honestly, Peter, it’s not really that big of a surprise.” MJ said.

“Nobody actually believes the whole Stark internship thing, guys. Why would they believe that I just happen to live with a bunch of superheroes?” Peter said quietly.

“But the SI internship isn’t exactly real,” said Ned. “I mean I know it’s just a cover story for Spider-Man, but if you think about it, you’re more of a third boss to the company.”

“What do you mean?” Peter asked as he stuffed his face with potato chips.

“Well, I know Tony didn’t technically adopt you, but he has sole guardianship and unless he and Miss Potts have a kid…you’re basically the heir of Stark Industries.” Peter choked on his food.

“Uh, _what,_ no, no way!” Peter sputtered.

“He has a point, Peter,” MJ agreed. “You have access to every room in the Tower as well as input in some of the designs.”

“Well, that’s just because I’m…you know,” Peter said, pantomiming webs as he coughed.

“Really?” MJ said. “Does Captain Rogers have access to Stark’s personal labs?”

“Well, no, but—”

“Or how about personal AIs? Anyone else have those?”

“No, but I think—”

“Face it, Parker, you’re basically his kid,” MJ finished with a sip of her water. Peter stared at her, dumbfounded. Well, he usually _stared_ at her, but this was for a reason…this time.

“This is making my head hurt,” he said.

“You don’t get headaches,” Ned pointed out. Peter let his head crash to the table top.

“What’s wrong, Penis?” Flash said as he walked by. “Stressed out about something?” he jeered.

“Not now, Flash,” Peter grumbled. Flash ignored him again and sat across from him. He went for MJ’s fries and she batted his hand away with a scowl.

“Look, why don’t we just put this whole thing to rest, Parker. Tell us you’re lying, and I’ll leave you alone.” Yeah right. Peter lifted his head. Even if he managed to make Flash believe a somewhat convincing lie, the bully would never leave him alone. He went to speak when his phone chimed. Peter dug it out of his jacket, much to Flash’s annoyance. It was a text from Tony.

_12:22 \ Tony:  Hey kid, meet me out front._

“What’s wrong?” Ned asked. Peter showed him the text. _“Dude, go,”_ Ned said practically pushing him out of his seat. Peter frowned.

_12:23 \ Peter: Everything okay?_

_12:23 \ Tony: Need your help, got you a suit, already talked to school. Let’s go._

“I-I have to go,” Peter said, gathering his stuff. “I’ll see you guys later.”

“Peter!” MJ called as he left. He turned back to her. “Just, don’t be stupid.” Peter smiled at her. It was the Michelle way of saying, ‘be safe’ and he appreciated it. Flash was clearly confused so Peter shrugged.

“Internship,” Peter said, and Flash rolled his eyes before leaving their table mumbling something about pathological liars. Peter saluted to his friends before making his way from the cafeteria, nearly running. So, Tony didn’t need _him_ , but Spider-Man. Something must be important if he needed to pull him from school like this. Tony was usually pretty set on him not missing school for his avenging, but he supposed there was a first for everything. He made it outside and found Tony in his Iron Man armor along with Natasha on her bike, fully suited up. “What’s going on?”

“We’ll tell you on the jet,” Tony said before his faceplate went down and he took off. Natasha tossed him a helmet and he climbed on behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

“Hang on, Peter,” she said over the roar of the engine. He tightened his grip as she bolted from the curb. Natasha was talented at many things and weaving through New York traffic on a motorcycle was one of them. They made it back to the Tower in record time and then they were heading into the elevator that led up to the landing platform. Steve, Bucky, Wanda, and Sam were already on board. Tony touched down as soon as they made it to the floor. Peter tossed his bag onto one of the couches and exited onto the platform. “Suits on board,” Nat said as they climbed the ramp.

Bucky tossed him a black bag and Peter ducked into the lavatory to get changed as the jet took off. He didn’t bother with his mask yet as he joined the team. “What are we dealing with?” Peter asked after they had been airborne for some time and everyone had finished getting situated. Peter took a seat next to Wanda and Steve. Sam was piloting as Tony typed away at the data screen. Nat was serving as co-pilot.

“Lang, he was checking out a signal that went live a little over eight hours ago just outside Montreal. It was almost identical to something Pym had created a while ago. But when he got there…” Tony trailed off as he pulled up the hologram of a well-known insignia. “Wasn’t what he thought.” The HYDRA seal stared them down and he could hear Steve’s hands clenching from the way his leather gloves cracked.

“I thought you took out the last base years ago,” Peter said as he stared at the hologram.

“We thought we did,” Steve said. “But it’s not just a singular thing. HYDRA is an idea and it’s going to show up again and again. This, however, isn’t so much a science base as it’s supposed to be.” Steve gestured to Tony who brought up the schematics for the base. “You see this here?” Steve pointed to one of the outer rings of the structure. “There are way too many gunners on that wall, even for a HYDRA base and then they have anti-aircraft weapons as well as these two platforms here.” Peter leaned over and looked at the section Steve was pointing to.

“Is that a warplane?” Wanda asked.

“One that is outfitted for much more than simple combat and carrying scientific equipment. This isn’t just another research facility, I’m sure it was a HYDRA military combat site,” said Steve.

 _“Was?”_ Tony asked.

“That plane is nearly as old as me,” explained Steve. “This was definitely an off-shore combat site. Most of the heavy guns will be down, but these smaller ones will still be working. Lang says there are at least fifty men from what he could see. He’s just on the outskirts waiting for backup. An aerial attack is going to be the primary focus here, but in order for Tony, Sam, and Wanda to get in there, we need to take out the air assault weapons and the electric field around it. That’s where you come in, Peter.”

“I don’t like this,” Tony said with a pointed look at both Steve and Natasha who had clearly come up with this part of the plan.

“I know,” said Steve. “but he’s the best plan we got.” Cap turned to Peter. “The generator that powers both the weapons and the electric fence is here.” Tony rotated the blueprint to show an annex building that was sunk into the ground. “Scott says there are major motion sensors on the floor, so even entering the threshold of the building will set off the alarms. Then there are about six feet of charged proximity sensors that start from the floor and stop about a foot and a half from the ceiling.” Nat stepped out of the cockpit and towards the hologram.

“You’re going to need to crawl along the ceiling to get to the other side and deactivate the exterior defenses," she said. "Scott is going to go with you as backup, but you’re the only one who moves quiet enough and quickly enough to get it done. As soon as you take those out, we can take the base.” Peter nodded, his hands already flexing and his adrenaline spiking. Wall-crawling was his favourite thing to do.

“When you and Lang get out of there, you’ll need to take out transport,” Bucky said. “I’ll take out the plane,” he said checking his grenade launcher. Peter knew Bucky hated dealing with HYDRA, just as much as Steve did, but this one seemed to be bothering him even more. It wasn’t until Peter glanced out the window that he realized why. Eastern Canada was covered in snow and as they headed into the mountains, just between Quebec and Montreal, it did look eerily familiar to Siberia from the reports that Peter had read. His suit immediately warmed to fit the climate.

“Anything we need to be looking for in particular?” Peter asked. “What about the signal Scott found?”

“Bad guys steal tech all the time,” Sam called from his seat. “We’ve encountered stuff from SI, Hammer Tech, even Oscorp on missions.” Peter shuddered at the mention of Oscorp. Even years later he can still feel the spider crawling on him.

“My guess is that they turned something on without knowing what it was,” Tony said. “The signal bounced off a satellite and they haven’t realized it. Lang says its still transmitting.”

“Or it’s a trap,” Wanda interjected, and the plane went silent.

“We’ve handled worse,” Natasha said trying to diffuse the tension.

“Ten minutes out,” Sam said, and Tony pulled Peter aside.

“You okay to do this? Scott was going to, but ants…they don’t fly well in the cold.” Peter laughed slightly but nodded. He couldn’t help but think back to the conversation he had earlier with Ned and MJ. Did Tony trust Peter with his company or was it just speculation and wishful thinking? He couldn’t dwell on that right now, not when he was about to take his first HYDRA base. He had of course been on many missions with the Avengers before and while he wasn’t officially titled, he considered himself a part of the team in more ways than one. And now they were trusting him to take down HYDRA defenses. He couldn’t help but feel excited and a bit nervous.

Tony grabbed his shoulder and Peter returned the gesture. It was their simple way of saying, “we got this” without having to say it and it was comforting to them both. Everyone was getting geared up. Steve was grabbing his shield; Bucky was rechecking his guns as well as his arm; Natasha took time to activate her Widow Bites; Wanda was doing her usual pre-fight concentration; And as F.R.I.D.A.Y did a check on the armor, Tony checked over Sam’s pack. Peter sat a few seats down and pulled on his mask. Karen greeted him immediately.

_“Afternoon, Peter. Should I do a system check?”_

“Might as well,” he told the AI as she went through checking his HUD and his web shooters. Peter checked the cartridges himself and made sure his hands and feet weren’t worn down.

 _"Incoming text from Mr. Leeds. He wants to know if you’ll be at school tomorrow.”_ Peter hoped so. That would mean the mission was a success and nobody was badly injured.

“Fifty-fifty, Karen.” he decided on. “Place texts and calls into away mode,” he ordered. The last thing he needed was for Ned to call him as he’s walking along a ceiling suspended over a high voltage alarm system. He adjusted his com frequency to their encrypted signal used for more stealth missions rather than the open channel that anyone such as Agent Ross could get access to.

The jet landed in a clearing, well hidden from the base, and they all disembarked. Peter wasn’t the biggest fan of snow. It was always touch and go with his webs in colder climates, especially icy ones. His new formula held up better than his last, but there were many variables to consider. Suddenly, Peter felt a presence. “On our right,” he said, sensing Scott before anyone else.

Scott Lang appeared from the trees, fully covered in his suit and in his hand, an EMF reader. “Base is about five miles that way. I’ve…acquired some transport,” he said as he dug into the pocket of his suit and held out three small objects that looked like children’s toys. Scott set them on the ground and threw his enlargement discs at them and three full-sized snowmobiles were in their place. “They have radar, but they aren’t monitoring airspace, not with the cover they get with the trees so you two should be fine,” Scott said to Sam and Tony. “Pete, you good to go?”

“Yep, just show me where,” he said, trying to pump himself up.

“Cap?” said Scott, handing over command to their leader.

“Scott you take Peter, Buck, you go with Nat, Wanda, you’re with me, and two in the air. Kill the engines as soon as the base comes into view. We wait until Peter and Scott take down those security measures and then we go in full assault. This is a full takedown. We destroy everything even if you think the tech is useful, anything HYDRA creates isn’t worth it. Nat, I want any data you can get, but destroy the system afterward.” She nodded. “All go in, all come out.”

“All go in, all come out.” They echoed. Something they had been doing lately. Since the Accords debacle was resolved, the camaraderie was in full effect. Nobody wanted to be on opposite sides like that again and it seemed Captain Rogers was doing everything he could to ensure that.

“Alright, head out.” They all mounted their snowmobiles. Nat was driving with Bucky behind her in sentry mode. Cap and Wanda had a similar situation. Peter, with his perfect balance, sat backward on the vehicle, his enhanced sight scanning the surrounding forests as they drove ahead of the others. Iron Man and Falcon watched from above.

“Skies are clear,” Sam said. “Cloud cover coming over the North ridge. Stark you go high, I’ll go low.” That was the obvious choice as the Iron Man armor was more equipped for the higher altitude and temperature. Peter was very grateful for the heater Tony installed in his suit after the lake incident.

They arrived at the base and stopped just short of the main fence. Scott shrunk down the vehicles and stashed them before taking Peter to the entrance point he used earlier. Problem was, Peter couldn’t shrink down to the size of an insect. “We got a plan here?” he asked Scott. “Cause I don’t know about you, but I think I stand out a bit,” he said gesturing to his brightly colored red and blue suit.

“Yep. I’m going to go first, make sure it’s all clear then you’ll enter from the roof.” Scott gestured to a low hanging branch that was right over the annex’s roof.

“And what about the electrical field?” Peter inquired, not too thrilled about the prospect of getting fried.

“I managed to short circuit a small bit of it, big enough for you to fit through, but small enough for them not to worry about it. Your HUD should give you the right spot.” Scott explained.

“And how did you manage that?”

“Crazy ants,” Scott said as they made their way towards the tree.

“I thought Tony said your ants didn’t do well in the cold,” Peter said as he tested his hands on the side of the tree trunk.

“They don’t,” Scott said sadly. “The funeral will be when we get back. But its okay, I’ve got more.” Scott seemed to be remembering something and Peter only guessed he was thinking about his old ant, Antony, as he usually did when he lost some of his six-legged companions. Scott had confided in him about the fallen ant one night after he had drunk a lot of Natasha’s special stash. Peter had to personally carry his fellow engineer back to his room. “Okay, you ready?” Peter saluted and then Scott shrunk down. Peter was able to track his movements with his sight and did so as he climbed the tree keeping behind it as much as possible.

“Karen, scan for the opening.” It took his AI only a few seconds to find the slight opening Lang had managed to corrupt. Just big enough.

“How’s it looking up top?” Steve said through the coms.

“Guards on both towers, a few gunners here and there and soldiers throughout main areas,” Sam said. “Anything else, Stark?”

“Some kind of energy coming from the basement, most likely the main generators or some type of tech,” Tony confirmed.

“We got eyes on the transports,” Bucky said as he and Natasha made their way to the eastern side of the compound.

“All clear, Spider-Man!” Lang said over the coms and Peter waited for the guard in tower one to turn his back before climbing onto the branch and in one fluid motion, slipped through the break in the force field.

“I’m on the roof,” he confirmed. Peter found the roof access hatch and pried it open, cringing at the squeaking of the hinges. “Lang?”

“To your left,” Scott said, and Peter looked down to see Scott had crawled onto his shoulder and was hanging on. Peter nodded to him and then managed to get the hatch opened enough and snuck inside, easily sticking to the stone roof. “Alright guys, we’re in. Which way, Karen?”.

 _"Go_ _straight_ _for about thirty feet. Stay as flat as possible Peter. One jolt from those sensors and you’ll go into cardiac arrest.”_

“Great, thanks,” he said flatly and started his crawl. Peter cringed with every step as he could feel the electricity from below as it crawled up his back and made his senses go crazy. His heart rate elevated because of it and of course Tony had a direct feed into his suit.

“You doing alright, Spider-Man?” Tony asked.

“Yup,” Peter breathed. “current is just a little stronger than I had anticipated. Not to worry, just really annoying.” he said through clenched teeth.

 _"Only twenty more feet to go, Peter,”_ Karen said in his ear and he forced himself to keep going.

“Almost there,” he said as he finally saw the edge of the ceiling as it vaulted upwards.

"I see the mainframe,” Scott said. Peter pushed himself and eventually was able to crawl along the new wall and exit the suffocating tunnel of death as he now called it. Peter launched two webs to the slightly taller ceiling above the main control desk and lowered himself and Scott right over it. Scott dropped down on a web and then got to work, running along the board hitting the right buttons as he instructed Peter for the switches on the wall.

“How do you know how to deactivate this?” Peter asked as he hit another shut-down switch. Scott knocked his tiny fist against a worn-down logo. PYM TECH. “Seems like Mr. Pym loses a lot more than shrinking tech.” It took them a few more minutes, but eventually, the strange electric humming cut out and the annex fell silent. After a moment of hesitation, Peter fired a web at the hallway behind him and when he wasn’t electrocuted he jumped happily to the ground. He and Scott, who had returned to normal size, double checked the readings and agreed they had done it.

“Shield is down,” Scott said. “Go now!” There was a group confirmation, a beat of silence, and then the loud and familiar sound of the Iron Man repulsors echoed around them along with gunfire. Peter and Scott shared a look before they headed outside and were met with a frenzy of soldiers all running to the front gate. Ahead of them, a building, surrounded in crimson energy, collapsed. Peter and Scott ran to the Eastern side and joined Bucky and Natasha as they placed charges on all transports, blowing them to pieces.

Bucky braced himself and then fired a grenade at the plane. In an instant, the aircraft went up into flames. “James!” Natasha yelled as two soldiers cornered him. The former HYDRA agent took both down in a matter of seconds. With the transports down, Peter headed for the higher ground as Scott joined in the fighting. He swung into the upper levels of the base, kicking in a window. The top level was filled with circuitry and radio emitters. Peter adjusted his web shooter settings and then shot taser webs to short circuit every bit of tech he could find. Over the railing, he could see Cap and Falcon taking out more and more soldiers. Peter flew through the structure, webbing up every piece of tech in his view. He met up with Natasha and Wanda and helped them thin the herd of HYDRA agents. Taking their weapons so Nat and Wanda could incapacitate them.

“Lang, you find that device yet?” Tony asked.

“It’s an atomic emission detector…” Scott said, clearly unimpressed.

“Isn’t that the thing that can identify pollutants in water?” Peter asked as he webbed up an agent who was targeting Cap.

“Yeah and air and soil. We used them to test the filtration system for the helmet. Why the hell would HYDRA want one?” Scott asked.

“Who cares!” Nat said. “Shut it down, Lang!” and he did, making note of the settings HYDRA had it at.

“Spider-Man, head for the far roof and take down the satellite antennas,” Tony said.

“On my way!” Peter said as he swung out a broken window but instantly sensed the problem. Two agents. One up top, the other on the ground. Peter, just in time, shot another web as the agent above cut the initial. Peter caught himself on the way down, sliding in the snow as his feet sought purchase. The agent above slid down a ladder attached to the side of the brick building. They cornered him. The first agent charged, throwing the first punch. Peter waited till the last minute, before ducking under his assailant's arm and his fist met stone with a disturbing  _crack._ The agent didn't give up so easily. The second blow didn’t meet either as Peter easily dodged it and flipped over the soldier's head. He kicked out and sent the man down into the snow, webbing him immediately. The second agent, the one who had cut his web, brandished a long knife. Peter pointed suddenly,  _“Ist das ein Waschbär?”_ The agent looked behind him from the German Peter rushed out and the nimble superhero, using the momentum of swinging around the support pole, kicked the agent in the chest, sending him a clear ten feet. The HYDRA goon went down hard. “These guys just don’t know when to quit!” Peter said as he swung up to the first antenna and broke it off its stand.

“Is nobody going to comment on the fact that the Spiderling just spoke _German,_ or was that just me?” Sam said as he landed in one of the towers and threw the agents to the ground, avoiding their rifles.

“Yeah, kid, what’s up with that?” Tony asked.

“Uh, yeah, that’s all I know!” Peter said as he broke the second antenna. “I accidentally changed the language settings on my TV once and was too lazy to fix it, so I watched some nature documentary in German for like two hours. I’m pretty sure I just asked if there was a raccoon behind him.” Peter dodged a grenade, caught it in a web and fired it back towards the building it was launched out of. Tony couldn’t help but laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation.

“Nice work, kid.” Spider-Man saluted Iron Man as Tony sped around a corner.

“Tony, you were right, main generators are all in the basement. We’re setting charges and then Wanda is going to blow it. It should make the entire building implode.” Cap said.

“Roger that, Rogers.” Tony joked. “Widow, Barnes, what do you got?”

“We got into the mainframe,” Bucky said. “Natasha downloaded everything. We’re good.”

“Lang?” Cap said.

“I’m out. Ready for transports at the main gate.” Scott said.

“I see you, Tic-Tac. I’m clear.” Sam said finishing up the final tower and taking to the skies. Tony sped towards Peter and Spider-Man fired a web, attaching himself to Tony’s boot and Iron Man got him clear of the compound. Tony dropped him at the gate with Scott. A moment later, Bucky and Natasha joined them with Steve and Wanda on their tail. A few soldiers were lingering, but Sam and Tony took them down easily. As soon as they were back on their snowmobiles and clear, Wanda activated the charges and the base went down in a pile of rubble and snow. The ground shook beneath them, but they managed to get back to the jet without complications. Tony and Sam landed as soon as they made sure no other stragglers were tailing them.

“I called Ross,” Tony said. “They’re sending a cleanup crew. He wasn’t pleased, but he never is.”

“Give Everett a break,” Natasha said. “He’s the better Ross.” Everyone agreed on that. They left the snowmobiles behind as they all piled into the jet and F.R.I.D.A.Y took them home. Peter tugged off his mask when he was settled and rubbed at his cold cheeks. He may need to alter the heater settings in the mask rather than just the suit.

“Anything broken?” Tony said as he stepped out of his armor.

“Nothing, you?” Peter asked, and Tony shook his head.

“Good work with the defenses, Pete,” Tony said as he ruffled the kid’s hair. “And the bit with the taser webs, that was pretty smart. And you thought you would never have to use them.”

“First time for everything.” Peter mused and then he was exhausted. He figured going on missions and fighting while running on very little sleep probably wasn't his best idea. His senses were going into overdrive ever since he was around those electric sensors. He sagged in his seat and Tony gave him a slight smile. Peter let his eyes wander. Steve was bandaging up Sam’s arm, a bullet graze from the look of it. Scott was reading something on his datapad and Wanda looked almost as exhausted as Peter was. Long distance magic took more out of her and she was relishing in the post-battle cooldown. Peter looked towards the back where Bucky and Natasha were sitting together, their heads close. The couple taking comfort in each other as they always did after a fight.

Peter then pulled his mask back on and activated his phone again. “Karen, text Ned that I’ll be at school tomorrow, but I’ll just fill him in then.”

 _“Anything you want me to send to Miss Jones?”_ Peter thought about it for a moment.

 “Yeah, tell her I didn’t do anything stupid.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been wanting to write a chapter where Scott and Peter worked together and I'm pretty happy with this ones. And if you didn't know, I'm a pretty big WinterWidow shipper so any story from here on out will most likely involve a Bucky/Natasha romance. 
> 
> I liked to think that as Peter got older and after he proved himself with the Vulture, Tony allowed him on missions more and more. 
> 
> Kid needs a bit of mid-week distraction, right?
> 
> EDIT/UPDATE: I went back and changed some of Peter's fight scene due to a comment that made a lot of sense. I forget just how powerful our favourite spider is. Ain't no weak spiders up in the MCU. Thanks for the critique!


	3. Two Kings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Asgardians pay a visit and Loki gives Peter some advice?

Peter didn’t go to school the next day.

By the time the team had made it home, he was even more tired than he realized. He barely made it through his quick dinner before dozing off in his room. When he woke up around noon the next day he was greeted with a multitude of worried texts from Ned. Peter had F.R.I.D.A.Y raise the sun shades over his window and nearly yelped as the light came rushing in. “F.R.I.D.A.Y, we should call the school,” he said, yawning.

_“Boss already took care of it when he took you out yesterday. Said you would be gone until Thursday due to an injured family member.”_

"An injured family member?" Peter mused.

_“I didn’t think it was that convincing either.”_

“Do you think he’ll let me skip Friday as well?” Peter asked.

“Not a chance, kid.” Tony’s voice came over the speaker. Peter sighed and fell back against his bed.

“Zero privacy in this place,” he called and was only greeted with Tony’s laughter. Peter grabbed his phone off his nightstand and called Ned. They should be at lunch by now. Ned picked up on the first ring.

“Peter!” he yelled much to Peter’s dismay.

“Dude, sensitive ears,” Peter said as he headed for his balcony, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

“Oh, right, sorry,” Ned said. “I thought you were going to be here today.”

“Yeah, sorry man. I didn’t realize how tired I would be when we got back.” Peter explained as he leaned out over the railing and looked to the city below.

“Where did you even go?”

“Canada,” Peter said. “We took a HYDRA base,” Peter whispered excitedly.

“What? No way! HYDRA! That’s insane!”

“Want to say that a little louder, Ned!” Peter said.

“Oh, don’t worry. MJ and I are on the bleachers out by the baseball fields. Nobody ever comes out here when it's cold.” he explained. “She’s listening on another earbud.”

“Hey, loser. Good to know you’re still alive.” MJ said in her usual monotone. Peter couldn’t help the smile that appeared on his face.

“Thanks. So, here’s what happened.” Peter told them the bare minimum as he usually did. He left out the more classified information as well as the violence and killing his teammates did. He did, however, mention how he and Ant-Man shut down the security defenses. “It was crazy, I felt like I was in a ‘Mission Impossible’ movie. Wasn’t the most comfortable situation, but you should have seen it, guys, it was epic.”

“And Black Widow really managed to hack into a HYDRA network?” MJ asked who was completely absorbed into Natasha’s part of the mission. Peter knew she really admired Nat as well as Pepper and Wanda. She even admitted she had high respect for Scott, even though she wasn't thrilled on the whole prison thing.

“Yeah, she’s pretty quick with that stuff. Nat does most of the data retrieval on missions.” Peter said.

“That’s pretty badass,” Ned commented, and Peter had to laugh.

“Yeah, I think so.” Peter spent the rest of the lunch hour talking to his friends. Flash was apparently spreading rumors about why he left school. “Is it bad?” Peter asked, already dreading the next day.

“Not all of them, but he did say that you were probably off paying people to lie for you on Friday,” Ned said.

“Didn’t just last week he was hounding me about how much money I _don’t_ have?” Peter asked.

“Nobody said Flash’s logic was always sound,” MJ said and then Peter heard the bell ring in the background.

“You guys better go. I’m going to go check on the others.” Peter said as he headed back inside.

“Was anyone hurt?” Ned asked.

“Sam got shot in the arm, but I think he’ll be fine. I’ll see you tomorrow. I mean it this time.” said Peter.

“You better.” Ned threatened sternly before ending the call. Peter chucked his phone on his bed, took a quick shower, and then headed downstairs. He found Pepper and Tony on the couch watching the news. Some woman was talking to the street reporter about how she saw some guy with a glowing fist. Peter ignored it and joined them in the living room.

“Hey kid, sleep well?” Tony asked, and Peter nodded.

“How’s Sam?” he asked.

“Flesh wound. Helen got him fixed up last night. And before you ask, Wanda is good too. Like you, she just needed some sleep.” Peter relaxed knowing his teammates were in good health.

“Any news from Ross?” Pepper asked Tony.

“He says that he’s sure we got the last base in North America. That doesn’t mean we got all of them, but one less HYDRA base is one less I need to worry about.” Tony said popping a blueberry into his mouth.

“I wish you didn’t have to worry about them at all.” Pepper sighed.

“I know, honey,” Tony said pressing a kiss to her forehead. The three of them settled in further to watch the news or whatever was on the TV as they flipped. The rest of the team were all spread out within the tower. Bruce had gotten back from his trip to Wakanda that morning and was working away in his laboratory. That’s where Peter found him a little over an hour later. Bruce’s lab was the most secure due to his work with biological compounds. You had to go through an airlock to access it, but of course, Peter had the codes. Still, he knocked on the final glass door and Bruce waved him in.

“Hey, Dr. Banner.” he greeted cheerfully.

“Hey, Peter. Aren’t you supposed to be at school?” Bruce said, pushing his glasses up his nose as he was bent over a microscope.

“I’m excused, a sort of recovery type day," Peter explained as he hopped up on a stool next to Bruce. The scientist straightened then.

“Right, Tony told me you were going to help yesterday.” Bruce went into full doctor mode as his hands cupped Peter’s face, turning his head this way and that. Bruce knew Peter was a lot stronger than he looked, but it was a habit. “You feeling okay? No bumps or bruises?”

“I’m good, Doc, really. What are you working on?” Peter asked, glancing at the display above the microscope. Bruce seemed to be satisfied that Peter wasn’t bleeding internally so he gestured to the monitor.

“Just running the annual analysis on my blood.”

“Still big and green?” Peter asked trying to sound serious. He failed. Bruce laughed and nodded.

“Yeah, but I think we’re getting along, you know?”

“Really?” Peter asked excitedly.

“No! Of course not.” Bruce grinned which made Peter join in as well. “To be honest Peter, I don’t think we’ll ever get along, but I think the tolerance may be growing more and more.”

“That’s better than nothing. I noticed that the last time I spoke to the Hulk, he seemee more…aware. Like he’s becoming his own person.” Bruce considered the boy’s hypothesis before nodding slowly.

“I think you may be right, Mr. Parker. I know Thor had a similar encounter back when we were on Sakaar. I’m going to look into it.” And as if the name alone was a summons, thunder cracked above their heads. “I swear he just listens and then decides to make dramatic entrances all the time,” Bruce said shaking his head. The two of them, well three when you include Loki, had bonded over their mission to defeat Hela. Since Thor and Loki were working to help reestablish Asgard for their people, Bruce hadn’t seen them as much. Especially with Loki finally taking the mantle of King on Jotunheim. The smile that appeared on his face told Peter that he was just as excited to see the two kings as he was. “I have to finish this, but I’ll be up in a few,” Bruce said as Peter made for the door. Peter waved and then headed to what Tony called “the party deck”. Stark had also modified a special landing platform for the Asgardians to use when they came to visit.

As soon as Peter exited onto the floor, Thor noticed him. The God of Thunder was fully outfitted in his armor, two duel swords strapped to his back. His brother was also in his battle armor, but Peter knew that Loki never brandished his weapons for those to see. “Ah, my friend!” Thor bellowed as he walked away from Steve to greet Peter. They gripped forearms and smiled at one another. “Are you well, Peter?”

“I am. And you Thor?” Peter asked.

“I am too in good spirits. We have managed to find suitable lodging for the rest of our people. However, we ran into a few…unwelcomed guests.” Peter then noticed a few specks of what looked like green blood on Thor’s neck. He decided to ignore it. “Stark tells me you took down a HYDRA base yesterday, you must tell me all about it!” Thor led him away and Peter immediately started telling Thor all about the previous day, a grin on his face the entire time.

* * *

 

Tony watched Peter and Thor interact and he couldn’t help cracking a small smile.

“Thor is fascinated by your son, Stark.” Tony looked over at Loki who had, at some time, changed clothes. He was now wearing a dark suit, all remnants of fighting, gone. Tony didn’t bother with correcting his former adversary on the nature of his and Peter’s relationship. After their sister destroyed their world and Thor brought Loki back to Earth, Tony wasn’t thrilled. The God of Mischief wasn’t trusted immediately, but over time Tony had actually come to tolerate the guy. Bucky Barnes and Loki Odinson, both civil with Tony Stark. Who would have thought?

“I think it’s because he talks so much. Maybe he thinks Peter is some other species.” Tony mused.

“Technically, he is part spider,” Bruce said coming up behind them. Banner and Loki greeted one another gripping arms and clapping shoulders. Another thing Tony never thought he would see. “Tony, you alright?” Tony looked to his friend and shrugged.

“Just…its Peter. I can tell something is wrong whether he sees it or not. And no, it's not just the field trip.” Tony had filled Bruce in on the teenager’s disdain for the Friday excursion. Bruce had found it funny and promised to be on his best behavior. “I don’t know, maybe I’m just being paranoid. He just hasn’t been sleeping lately, keeps wanting to stay busy at night. Whether it's out in the city or in the lab.”

“His mind is troubled.” Loki decided, looking at the boy. “I can sense it.” Loki considered Thor and Peter for a moment longer before simply walking away to go talk to Natasha who was at the bar. Tony stared after him for a moment before shaking his head.

“I do not know why you choose to be friends with that drama queen,” Tony said.

“Well, technically he’s a king, so…”

“Bruce.”

“He grows on you.” Bruce decided. “Slowly.”

* * *

 

Peter took a break from the festivities that always seem to happen when Thor and Loki came to visit.

He was seated in one of the rooms just off the main space, letting his senses calm down. He had slept long, but fitfully the night before. His mind was all over the place. The mission was a good distraction, but now that the adrenaline was gone he was back to overthinking things. And some were worse than the field trip. That seemed minuscule to everything else that was bouncing around in there.

Footsteps made him look towards the door. Loki had entered the room and with a simple nod towards the open balcony, he strode outside.

Peter followed him.

Loki stood at the railing as he looked over the city he once orchestrated destruction upon. Peter remembered the Battle of New York vividly. Ben and May had been watching the destruction of Manhattan on the TV while Peter watched from around the corner. He never would have imagined back then that he would be standing next to the man who caused it; Or that he would be fighting with the Avengers; Or that both Ben and May were now gone. “You are in distress, Spiderling,” Loki said pulling Peter out of his reverie.

“No, I’m not,” Peter said defensively.

“Your mind is,” Loki said with a knowing look in his pale eyes. “What troubles you?” Peter thought about lying but trying to lie to the man who was literally called ‘Silvertongue’ wasn’t so easy. Peter sighed and joined Loki at the balcony. His eyes sought to see all the way to Queens.

“It’s fall, nearly winter, which means holidays. I just can’t help but get a little… _distressed_ when I think that my family isn’t here to spend it with me.” Peter said. He found saying it out loud felt…liberating. He let go of a breath that he seemed to have been holding for a while.

“Yes, Stark mentioned you lost your aunt not even two years prior,” Loki said turning to Peter. “I too have known lost such as yours.” Loki turned only his eyes to the horizon. “My mother, Frigga.” Peter knew this. They all did. Frigga, Thor and Loki’s mother, and queen of Asgard had died protecting Jane Foster from the Dark Elves. Loki had been locked in the dungeons at the time. Peter had just never realized how much it affected the god as he knew how much Loki despised Odin.

“How did you…move on?” Peter inquired. Loki looked back to the boy.

“I’m not sure I ever did. I miss her every day. She was a light in so much of the darkness in my life. She taught me magic.” Loki explained.

“Really?” Loki nodded and lifted his palm and watched as his hand glowed a soft emerald green in the setting sun. Peter hadn’t realized how late it had gotten amongst all the catching up. “May never taught me anything like that,” Peter said jokingly.

“No,” Loki considered. “but I am sure she taught you many things. Not every lesson must be a physical one, Mr. Parker. Yes, my mother taught me how to cast spells and master my abilities. However, she also taught me about strength and resilience. I don’t know what my life would have been like if it weren’t for those more important teachings.” Loki placed a hand on Peter’s shoulder. “Do not try and ‘move on’. Feel your grief and use it to remember her. Trust me when I say that not feeling will lead you towards a path one cannot so easily diverge from.” Peter was surprised at how comfortable he felt around Loki and how easy it was to talk to him about this. Peter sighed and nodded once.

“Thanks,” he said sincerely. Loki gave him a half-smile, dropped his arm, and out of thin air produced two glass with two fingers worth of amber liquid. Loki handed one to Peter.

“Don’t tell Stark,” he warned and downed his drink. Peter followed suit knowing that his metabolism would just burn the alcohol right off. But he felt honored, it was a big deal for an Asgardian to share a drink with someone. Loki vanished the glasses immediately before Tony decided to come eavesdropping.

Loki left him alone then, saying something about making sure Thor didn’t drink too much. Peter let his mind wander and allowed himself to think of May. It had been a while since her accident. A drunk driver, and May was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Peter had been waiting for her at home when he got the call. It had taken him a while to do something besides staring at the crushed, corded phone in his hands. He had eventually picked up his cell phone and called Happy. He and Tony had met Peter down at the hospital where May was pronounced dead. Tony had to call Wanda down, upon Peter’s request, to knock him out from all the sensory overload.

When Peter had woken up the next day he was in his room at the Tower after Tony and Pepper had acquired temporary guardianship. He didn’t speak for three days and only accepted visits from Tony, Pepper, Wanda, and Bucky. Even then he didn’t say much. At the reading of the will, it was revealed that May had left sole guardianship to Tony and so Peter moved in permanently. He was kept busy with Avengers business, but Tony never let him get too distracted and made sure he didn’t bottle everything up. He would hold the boy when Peter woke up screaming and let Peter nearly crush his hands when he was angry. It took a while for things to get better, but they got through it, together.

The bond between the two was stronger than ever and it was important that Tony was there. Even when he yelled at Peter or threatened to take his suit again, Peter was grateful. All his family had been taken from him, but he was given a second one and he held onto it with everything he could. _I’m okay, May. I promise,_ he thought before going back inside to find Tony.

* * *

 

The next day Peter made it school right on time.

And for once he wasn’t exhausted. He met up with MJ and Ned in the hallway. “Hey, man!” Ned said grinning broadly.

“Hey. Did I miss anything?” Peter had gotten all his school work while he was off, but he figured he had to have missed some kind of Midtown gossip.

“There’s a poll going on,” MJ said from behind her notebook. “Trying to guess what Avengers we’ll see tomorrow. As if they are zoo animals.” MJ said, disgusted.

“Hopefully none.” Peter quipped. He had been promised that they would be civil tomorrow, but he knew Clint, Sam, and even Tony weren’t going to listen. Nat was probably going to smother him with Wanda as her sidekick and if he knew Bucky, he'd say something incredibly embarrassing without meaning to.

“So, hey, did Scott ever have that ant funeral?” said Ned as they headed for first period. The first half of the day went off without any issues. Peter managed to dodge Flash for most of it and then the trio escaped to the bleachers again. All of them ready to brave the cold to escape Flash and his cronies.

“Oh, did I tell you Thor is here?” Peter asked as he bit into his massive sandwich. Ned nearly dropped his own lunch.

“THOR?” he said in awe. Ned loved Thor and he was the only Avenger he had yet to properly meet.

“Yeah he and Loki came to visit,” said Peter.

“I don’t know why Thor thinks it’s a good idea to bring Loki back to Earth, let alone New York,” MJ said.

"When you look past all the, you know, _murder_ , and stuff, Loki is a pretty good guy. He actually gave me some great advice last night. He’s just misunderstood.” Peter shrugged.

“He sent an alien army to destroy New York and tried to take over the world.” MJ deadpanned.

“Okay misunderstood _and_ slightly unstable,” Peter admitted. “I think he’s better now.”

“Great,” MJ said. “Later,” she said as she left them alone with a vague wave.

“Always on the move,” Ned said with a frown before turning back to Peter. “Does Thor have a new hammer? Peter!” Peter snapped back to reality after he had been staring after MJ. “You two need to figure all that out,” Ned said with a gesture between them.

"Figure what out?” Peter asked reaching for his second sandwich. Ned just gave him a knowing look. Peter huffed and went back to eating. “Oh!” he reached into his bag and pulled out a lanyard. “You left this in my room last time you were at the tower. I found it under my bed.” Peter handed Ned his Stark Tower pass.

“Oh, thank you! I thought I lost it. That’s why I’ve been making excuses to hang out.” Peter laughed.

“I would have gotten you a new one, Ned.”

“But these are so hard to get! I mean I know its only a level three, but its important to me!” Peter had convinced Tony to let Ned have his own pass for the tower. Tony had agreed so Ned could come over, but he didn’t grant him access to the top-level labs.

“The kid hacked my very expensive suit, Pete. Ted doesn’t get to touch my stuff.” Tony had said. Ned had been cool with it. Besides, if Peter wanted to he just needed to have F.R.I.D.A.Y grant temporary access to certain rooms. It was how Ned could use the personal elevator.

“Any plans for the weekend?” Ned asked.

“Tony and I are upgrading suits. He’s even letting me work on the Iron Spider.” Peter said happily. “I’ll make sure you get the specs in case I ever need you on something with it.”

"Awesome,” Ned said. “I’m working on the code for our bot.” Peter and Ned were building a robot for their science fair project. Peter was doing the main engineering, but Ned was doing all the software and coding. Tony was providing the materials, but the two friends wanted to do everything else by themselves.

“Great let me know if you need any measurements or numbers,” Peter said finishing his lunch.

“Will do!” Suddenly Peter’s phone rang. It was Scott. Peter put it on speakerphone.

“Hey, Scott! Ned’s here too.” Peter said by way of greeting.

“Hi, Ned, how are you?” Scott said.

“I’m good, Sir.”

“That’s good.” Scott said laughing at Ned calling him ‘Sir’.  “Hey Pete, I was just calling to tell you that the Pym tech we found was a complete bust.”

“What do you mean?” Peter asked.

“There was no use for it. Cap was right, they took it without knowing what it was. The settings were set for sifting through sand and it wasn’t even set up properly.”

“Maybe they thought it was something to do with the Particle?” Peter guessed.

“That’s what I figured. Hope is looking into it, but she agrees that it was just a random grab. All the good stuff is what Natasha found. I just figured you would want to know.”

“Yeah I did, thanks, man,” Peter said.

“And I hate to do this, but I won’t be there tomorrow.” Peter was actually a little disappointed. He figured Scott would have been the more benign of the group when it came to embarrassing him. “I’m heading to see Cassie, but I’ll be back in a week or so.”

“Yeah don’t worry about it. Trust me when I say the emptier the tower, the better. Tell Cassie ‘hi’ for me!”

“Will, do Parker! Okay, gotta go! Bye Ned!” Ned said goodbye and Peter ended the call.

“You could always hide,” Ned suggested. Peter flicked a piece of apple at his best friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just love the idea of Loki and Peter being friends and confiding in one another. Also, yes Loki is officially the King of Jotunheim as it should be. And you may be asking: What about Thanos? Infinity War? 
> 
> Yeah we like happiness in this world so we're going to forget about the purple grape and embrace happy and alive Loki Odinson!
> 
> UP NEXT: THE TOUR


	4. Stark Tower

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The field trip.
> 
> Some Iron Dad Spider Son moments.
> 
> Some of the Avengers are nosy.
> 
> Others like to hug Peter.
> 
> Your typical field trip chapter.

Peter stared up at the bus as if it had offended him.

He had swung to Queens that morning. He didn’t want Happy to have to drive him all the way out there just for him to come right back. Now with his suit stuffed in his bag and his tower pass burning a hole in his jacket pocket, he boarded the bus. Peter sat in the back with MJ and Ned. Flash was already being obnoxious. “Hey, Penis! Got your plan all ready?” Flash taunted from the seat in front of him. MJ flicked an M&M at him.

“Flash, don’t you have anything better to do?” Ned asked, clearly exasperated by him as much as Peter was.

“I’m just focused on exposing liars, Leeds. It’s my civic duty.” Flash said, smoothing his collar.

“Then be a good civilian and sit down,” MJ shot back. Flash eyed her a for a moment before reluctantly sitting as the bus pulled away from the curb.

“And so, it begins,” Peter mumbled.

* * *

 

The drive back into Manhattan didn’t take long enough.

Thirty minutes later a busload of Midtown Tech students stood out front of Stark Tower. Just the sheer size of the skyscraper was enough for a lot of Peter’s classmates to look up in awe. MJ and Ned who had both been many times kept their eyes forward occasionally glancing at their friend. Stadler pulled everyone into a group and lead them into the main lobby. They were met by Happy who was standing at the security desk. “Okay, everyone, this is Mr. Hogan. He will be giving you your security badges as well as going over a few rules." Stadler gestured to Happy.

“Badges. They are your lifeline. If I see you without it, I won’t hesitate to haul you out of here. Clear?” They was a chorus of ‘yes’ and then Happy started passing out level one visitor passes. “You too, Parker.” Happy said and Peter slipped his own badge over his head, Ned got his out as well. Happy handed a pass to MJ with a friendly greeting. Flash eyed the personalized badge around Peter’s neck but didn’t say anything. “This tour is a privilege.” Happy continued. “Yes, this is the home of the Avengers, but its also a business, so keep your teenage impulses at an all-time low. Do not touch anything unless permitted to and don’t wander off. I’m turning you over to the tour supervisor: Miss Collins.” Peter recognized her. She worked with Pepper a lot of the time on Avengers PR. Her name was Joanna, Jo for short.

“Okay then, if you will follow me,” Jo said as she led them over to the metal detectors. “Scan your pass and then walk through.” Jo placed her level four badge and F.R.I.D.A.Y. immediately spoke to her.

 _“Joanna Collins. Access level: Four. Cleared.”_ All the teenagers besides a few were immediately enamored by the AI. One by one they scanned their passes. _“Guest. Access level: One. Cleared.”_ F.R.I.D.A.Y.’s accented voice echoed each time. Finally, Peter stepped forward, scanning his pass. _“Peter Parker. Access level: Five. Cleared. Good morning, Peter.”_ Peter grimaced.

“Hey, Fri.” then in a quieter voice, “Karen is with me,” he said knowing she would understand not to set off the metal detector when his suit went through it. He passed through it without a problem. Ned followed.

 _"Ned Leeds. Access level: Three. Cleared. Hello, Ned.”_ F.R.I.D.A.Y. greeted.

“Hi, F.R.I.D.A.Y.” Ned smiled and followed Peter through. Jo then finally noticed Peter as he trailed behind.

“Oh! Mr. Parker, I almost forgot you attended this school.” Jo said with a wide smile.

“Hi, Jo,” Peter said sheepishly. “Just act like I’m not even here.” he joked. Jo laughed.

“Try telling that to the Boss,” Jo said lightly.

“You know Parker?” Flash interjected. Jo raised a brow at Flash and then snuck a look at Peter who just shrugged a shoulder.

“I do,” Jo said. “Peter works with Mr. Stark,” Jo said, leaving it at that. As a close friend and co-worker of Pepper, Jo knew that Peter lived at the Tower and worked with the Avengers. Though she didn’t know of his other identity. They managed to keep that pretty tight-lipped at SI. “Now if you’ll follow me. We will be taking the freight elevator.” They all piled into the big elevator and Jo scanned her pass. “F.R.I.D.A.Y., floor ten please.” The lift immediately started moving. Peter knew level ten was one of the Research and Development levels. Usually working on ARC technology.

They exited onto the floor and Jo lead them down the corridor. “Here at Stark Industries we are devoted to clean energy. I’m sure you are all familiar with the ARC reactor. And not just the small one that powers the Iron Man suit.” A few nods came from the group. “This building has its own that Mr. Stark has developed so the tower can be self-sustaining. The technology also powers the Avengers compound upstate and Mr. Stark is working to convert it to be adaptable for more than just buildings and superhero suits.” They passed a lab where multiple interns were working on calculations and some engineers, who were working on what looked like blueprints for some type of aircraft.

“What is that?” Abe asked, pointing to the blueprints.

“They are some old schematics for a helicarrier that SI developed for S.H.I.E.L.D, an upgrade is in the works.” Peter had been told many stories about that helicarrier. How it had been used in both the Battle of New York and the Battle of Sokovia.

“Hopefully _this_ _one_ will be Hulk proof.” They all turned at the new voice. Standing at the wall behind them was the Black Widow herself. Natasha was dressed in civilian clothes, but Peter didn’t doubt there was a weapon hidden on her person somewhere. Nat caught Peter’s eye and smiled. Peter accepted defeat. _Here we go,_ he thought. “Though, if you ask me, the Hulk isn’t all that bad. Just a little messy.” Nat said grinning at the kids.

“Miss Romanoff,” Jo said in greeting. “What brings you down to the labs?” Nat shrugged.

“Just checking in on the tour.” she stopped by MJ. “Michelle, right?” MJ nodded. Natasha shook her hand. “Peter tells me you’re quite the genius. Any interest in computer sciences?”

“A little bit,” MJ said.

“I’ll have Pete give you my number. I think I could increase that interest.” Natasha smiled and moved on. MJ shot Peter a small nod and what Peter considered to be MJ’s smile. Peter smiled back.

“Y-you know Peter?” Cindy asked. Natasha turned to the girl.

“Didn’t Peter ever tell you he works here?” Nat asked nonchalantly. Cindy shook her head. Natasha looked to Peter, her acting flawless. “Parker, no need to be modest,” she said before turning back to the group. “Peter works with, well, with everyone. Which reminds me.” Nat pulled something out of her pocket and tossed it to Peter. “Fix it,” she said, before turning her back. “Have a good rest of your tour, children,” Natasha said as she walked away.

“Wait! Nat, what’s wrong with it?” he said looking at the Widow’s Bite in his hands.

“Just fix it!” she called over her shoulder. Peter quickly shoved it into his backpack, his cheeks heating up already. He felt Ned pat him on the back.

 _“Dude,”_ Jason said to Peter. “You know Black Widow…” Peter grimaced and started to follow the group as Jo lead them deeper into the labs. Flash dropped back to walk next to him.

“She’s like some distant cousin or something right? Family obligation or whatever?” Flash said, voice full of scrutiny.

“Or maybe I’ve been telling the truth this entire time and you just never wanted to believe it.” Peter offered.

“Listen here, Penis. Something isn’t right here, and I am going to figure it out.” Flash disappeared back into the group and Peter had the sudden urge to hit something.

“Dude, your knuckles are white, chill out,” MJ said in his ear and Peter relaxed his hands. MJ raised her brows at him and he nodded once. He was okay.

The tour went through all of the calculation labs and then up to the prosthetic lab. Jo allowed access and they all filed in. Peter wasn’t surprised to see Bruce there as well as Rhodey, but he was a little confused as to why Bucky was there. That is until he saw his arm. The vibranium prosthetic had a large dent in the bicep. It hadn’t been there yesterday, so it must have just happened. Peter figured Bruce was taking a look at the nerve connections before sending Bucky up to Tony to have the metal fixed. Based on the size of the dent and the arm being vibranium, there was only one thing that could have done it. Peter only wondered what Steve and Bucky were up to that created that much damage. He didn't doubt that it would have hurt too.

“Students,” Jo called. “I am sure these men don’t need any introduction, but please say hello to Dr. Banner, Colonel Rhodes, and Sargent Barnes.” Rhodey and Bruce smiled kindly at the group while Bucky just waved awkwardly with his one working arm.

“Welcome to the prosthetic lab,” Bruce said. “I’ve set up some of our old prototypes over there for you to look at. Feel free to pick them up, just be careful. You can go around the room and check out the other projects, but don’t touch those, only the ones on the table.” Bruce said, and everyone dispersed. As Ned lead MJ over to some old hand prototype, Peter went to talk to Bucky.

“What did you do?” Peter asked as his hand skimmed over the dent and indeed, there were red and blue paint flecks dusted around it. “Or I guess, what did _Steve_ do?”

“It wasn’t Steve,” Bucky said pushing his hair out of his eyes.

“But this was made by the shield, right?”

“Well yeah, but Steve wasn’t the one who threw it.” Peter considered this for a moment. There were very few people who were as strong as Captain Rogers, Peter being one of them.

“Thor did this?” Peter asked, his eyes wide.

“He’s strong, he just has horrible aim,” Bucky said with a chuckle. “Basically, Sam bet that Thor couldn’t throw it farther than Steve and you know how that damn frisbee likes to bank on corners,” Bucky said with a sigh and a frown towards his left arm.

“Children.” Rhodey scoffed from across the table. “You would think being over a thousand years old he wouldn’t get involved in childish bets.”

“But he’s only been on Earth for like ten.” Peter pointed out. “We’re a young species.”

“Mmhmm.” Rhodey hummed before leaving the lab grumbling something about man-babies.

“Nat came to see me,” Bucky said out of nowhere. Peter shrugged.

“And?”

“She mentioned that not many people know that you ‘work’ here,” Bucky said with one-handed air quotes.

“Most of the decathlon team knows I do, but they don’t exactly believe me. It’s a bit unbelievable to be a teenage intern at the world’s leading technology company.” Bucky nodded, understanding Peter’s take on it.

“Does anyone know about your personal connection to Stark?”

“No, well MJ and Ned do, but not anyone else. And they can’t ever know. The last thing I need is for people to treat me differently just because my guardian is Tony Stark.” Peter explained. He had, of course, considered telling people, but at the end of the day, he liked being Peter Parker. If the media caught wind of his current living situation he would be pegged as the orphan turned Stark and he didn’t think he would be able to handle that. “Maybe when I graduate we can release something. It is getting harder to hide. Especially when Tony picks you up from school to go off to Canada.”

“Yeah, there’s that.” Bucky laughed gripping Peter’s shoulder. “Your friends are staring.” Bucky inclined his head towards Flash and Jason.

“Not really my friends,” he grumbled. Bucky didn’t miss the daggers Flash was sending to Peter.

“Does that guy bother you?” Bucky asked Peter, not letting his stare leave the boy.

“Who, Flash? No, no, he’s just…he doesn’t believe I work here.” Peter stammered out. “And he likes to tell everyone I’m a liar…among other things.” Bucky looked back to Peter.

“He bullies you,” Bucky said, not a question.

“Uh…” Peter looked between the super soldier and Flash Thompson. “And if I say he does?” Peter asked cautiously.

“I don’t like bullies, Pete. I had to lay out quite a few of Steve’s back in the day. If he’s bothering you, I need you to know you can tell me.” Bucky said, his eyes intent on Peter’s.

“I know I can and I promise its nothing I can’t handle,” Peter promised. “Let me know if I can do anything,” he said gesturing to the arm. Peter left Bucky’s side as his class left the lab. Peter dodged Flash and went in between MJ and Ned. Peter kept his head down for most of the remainder of the lab tours. By the time they were halfway through their day, no other Avengers came to visit. Jo took them to the cafeteria for lunch before they were scheduled to go up to the “hero floors” as she called it.

Peter was flipping through his phone, checking on Spider-Man’s social media presence, when he felt someone standing behind him. Not a threat, his senses told him. He then realized how quiet the room had gotten. Peter looked at MJ, then Ned who was trying not to laugh. Suddenly, two arms wrapped around his neck and a curtain of long auburn hair covered his face. Peter sputtered behind the wavy locks and peered up to see Wanda smiling down at him. “Hello, Wanda.” Peter smiled. Wanda gave him another squeeze before pulling out the chair next to him and taking a seat. She propped one of her boot-clad feet onto his lap and stole his apple.

“I was bored so I thought I’d come and say hello,” she said taking a bite.

“Where’s Vision?” Peter asked. The two were almost attached at the hip these days.

“With Banner,” Wanda said. “Not quite sure what they are doing. Are you having a good day?” Peter shrugged, and she kicked him in the side.

“It’s been fine. Nothing too embarrassing.” Peter said.

“So then I take it you guys haven’t seen Tony yet?” Wanda asked the table.  Ned shook his head.

“Not yet,” said Ned.

“He’s probably trying to make a dramatic entrance.” Wanda laughed. Her eyes caught those of Flash and Charles. She waved sweetly at them and their eyes widened. It was then that Peter noticed Wanda’s eyes were glowing softly.

“Must you?” Peter grumbled. Wanda looked back at Peter, the crimson slowly fading back to her usual green.

“You know,” she said standing up. “You are usually a lot more fun.” Wanda teased. She ruffled his hair, kissed his cheek, and then strut from the room, her hair fanning out behind her.

“It’s like she’s your hot, older sister,” Ned said in awe as she walked down the hall. MJ smacked his shoulder causing Peter to laugh.

“Don’t let Vision hear you say that,” Peter said.

“Do you think Flash is going to think you’re related to her as well?” MJ mused.

“I hope not.” Peter cringed. That was the last rumor he wanted getting out. That he was somehow related to two of the most powerful and badass women in the world while he was geek supreme, Peter Parker. Jo then came up to him.

“Peter, you have a message,” she said slipping him a slip of paper. He read it twice before looking over his shoulder to see a familiar blond waving to him around the corner.

“Uh, I’ll be right back,” Peter said as he ducked into the hallway and approached Steve. Captain Rogers was in what he considered his “incognito” outfit. Which was really just a baseball cap and a dark t-shirt. “I’m guessing Bucky talked to you?” Peter said as way of greeting.

“Are you really being bullied?” Steve asked his hands on his hips. Peter liked to call this mood: Dad Steve. Peter had discovered Steve’s many personas over the years. Soldier Steve, Confused Steve, Chef Steve, Leader Steve, and even I-Can’t-Find-Bucky-And-Now-I’m-Sad Steve. His list was still growing as the days went by with Cap. Dad Steve, however, was fully on display.

“Trust me, if it was ever really bad, I would come to you guys. You believe that, right?” Peter asked hopefully.

“Not for a second, son,” Steve said and Peter’s shoulders sank.

“It’s just kids teasing kids, I can handle it, really. Besides, it’s better he torments me than some other kid who can’t take it.” Peter rationalized. Steve took a deep breath, grabbing the bridge of his nose.

“Peter, you know that if it ever gets physical you can’t hit back.”

“Because I’ll send him a clear twenty feet and possibly cause internal bleeding?” Peter said, his mind already imagining Flash’s face if Peter ever actually hit back. He didn’t mention to Steve that Flash had gotten physical before with tripping or shoving him against lockers. Steve gaped at him.

“No, Peter, because violence meeting violence doesn’t make you the better man.” Steve lectured.

"Oh. Right! Yeah, that’s it.” Steve was slowly shifting from Dad Steve into Grandpa Steve. Peter also called this: I-Am-Too-Old-To-Be-Dealing-With-Kids Steve, but the former was faster to say.

“Okay, I have to go and deal with something downtown with Sam, so I will see you later tonight,” Steve said with a worried look over Peter’s shoulder.

“Cap, I’m fine. Really, go be professional and stuff.” Peter said shoving Steve back towards the elevators. He looked back once before calling the elevator and heading down. Peter took a moment before raising his eyes to the ceiling. “Why me?” he asked anyone. Of course, there was an answer.

“It’s a curse, bud.” Not the voice he expected to hear. It wasn’t F.R.I.D.A.Y., but a familiar echoing sound coming from the vents above. “Embrace it.”

“You’re going to get stuck in there one day, Clint,” Peter said walking back to the cafeteria.

“I fit just fine!” Hawkeye bellowed back.

* * *

 

After lunch, the group headed upstairs to the Avengers museum or as Ned called it: The Archive.

“It just sounds so much cooler.” Ned had explained one Saturday afternoon at the tower. The museum was open to the public on certain days. It held everything from Mark I to a replica of Loki’s scepter, sans infinity stone of course. There were sections and cases for each of the Avengers, past, and present. Both Peggy Carter and Pietro Maximoff had places of honor in the museum. Pietro’s being next to his twin sister’s and Peggy’s being with Steve's and Bucky’s. They used to have one for Agent Coulson, but they had recently found out he wasn’t dead after all. Tony took it down out of spite but kept a plaque up that just says: PHIL, much to many people’s confusion.

Peter even had one, but his didn’t have as many artifacts or stories. Peter and Ned approached it. Tony had unveiled it a little over a month ago. It was simple. A replica of his suit stood proudly in the center with prototype web shooters in a case next to it. There were videos of his earlier days as Spider-Man where he was dressed in what Tony called his “onesie”; images of when he helped save his classmates in DC; and even security footage of when he tried to save the Vulture. He was proud of it.

“Haven’t seen much of Spider-Man lately,” Flash said behind him. “What about you, Parker?” Flash taunted. “Do you know where he is? I mean since you’re _friends_ with him and everything.” Peter went to speak, but he was interrupted.

“He’s busy like all spiders are.” Everyone turned and gasped as Tony Stark sauntered into the room, fully outfitted in his usual suit and graphic tee combination. His HUD glasses sitting smartly on his face. A worldwide icon and hero. And he knew it too. “You know, off climbing walls and saving cats out of trees.” Tony stopped next to one of the replicas of his suit. “I hope you’re all not too bored,” Tony said tapping at his phone quickly before turning to the group. “Because this,” he gestured. “it’s all relative. Sure it’s cool and rad and whatever else you teenyboppers say these days.” Peter groaned internally. “But the fun stuff? That’s upstairs. Shall we?” he gestured for them to follow and like the sheep they were, they did.

One by one they piled into the elevator. Peter was the last one in and was stuck standing next to Tony. Peter gave him a look. “What?” Tony asked.

“Upstairs?” Peter questioned.

“I’ve been watching the security footage. Besides the quick tour of the Limbs Lab and an awkward run-in with 'Miss Fix It', not too much interesting stuff happening. I need my guests to be entertained.” Tony said. Peter snorted.

“People friendly.” Tony beamed at him.

“See, I knew we would be on the same page. You need to have more faith in me, kid.” Tony said as the doors opened. Peter caught the look on Mr. Stadler’s face as he watched the billionaire and his student interact. Clearly, Stadler didn’t believe Peter knew Tony either. Fantastic. “Okay, listen up kiddies. Welcome to the fun levels.” Tony said as they walked through the corridor. “We got everything from training rooms to test labs. We even got a pinball machine around here somewhere, just don’t beat Vision’s high score.” Tony took them to the main lab they used for gear repair. Currently, there was a nearly destroyed Iron Man suit in the center of the room. Tony had been remote flying it, testing some stealth thrusters, when it malfunctioned and got hit by a train.

Along the other benches were bits and pieces belonging to multiple Avengers. A new bow for Clint, whisper-quiet boots for Natasha, even some communication devices Tony was planning to send over to Hill for their consideration. “Feel free to look, but if you touch it, you have to deal with the person who owns it. And let me tell you, Falcon doesn’t like people touching his stuff.” Peter didn’t even bother to explain that Sam wasn’t even in the tower. “Off you go!” he announced. “Pete, you’re with me.” Tony pulled Peter over to the damaged suit, handing him a data pad in the process. “X-ray scan.” Peter set the program up and let F.R.I.D.A.Y. scan the armor.

“Why are you doing this?” Peter whispered. Tony looked up from his position on the floor as he checked that the wiring was still intact. He had a rueful expression on his face. “Oh my god, Nat told you too.”

“She didn’t have to, kid. That little shit has been giving you a hard time ever since I’ve known you. Did you really think I never noticed?” Peter handed the pad back to Tony who erected a hologram over the solid suit. “I just thought maybe if he saw that you weren’t lying and if I threw him a superhero flavoured bone, he’d lay off of you.” Tony shrugged, but Peter could see the tension in his shoulders. Tony tried to act as if he didn’t care about his teenage drama, but Peter knew he did.

“I’m not sure how much it’ll help,” Peter said catching the screwdriver Tony tossed him.

“Check the oxygen supply,” Tony ordered. “Look, I had my fair share of bullies when I was a kid.” Peter snorted. "Okay maybe not many, but it wasn’t easy being Howard Stark’s son, in more ways than one as you know.”

“Tank is intact,” Peter said. “I just don’t get why you are all so concerned _now._ Really, Tony, _I’m fine._ ”

“He calls you ‘Penis’,” Tony said with a grimace.

“It’s better than some other nicknames I’ve imagined,” Peter said. Tony gestured to the ARC reactor. Peter tested the power supply. “He _loves_ Spider-Man,” Peter grumbled.

“Of course, he does,” Tony said, grabbing the screwdriver and taking over for Peter. “And if you told him you were said Spiderling, he would say he _hated_ Spider-Man. It’s just the way the world works.” Peter found a spinning chair and rolled around the suit. A yawn escaped him. “Still not sleeping?” Peter shrugged.

“I was up late,” Peter explained.

“Yeah, talking to Rudolph,” Tony said. “Hey! You break those you’ll have an army of ants coming after you!” Tony yelled at Seymour who had knocked over a stack of deactivated enlargement discs Scott had been working on. He got all his tech from Hank Pym but found himself working at the tower more and more.

“Calling him names doesn’t help the whole villain reform thing.” Peter pointed out, ignoring the outburst as he spun around in his chair.

“It’s out of friendship, Pete. Loki and I are on our way to becoming fast friends…slowly.” Peter looked up at his mentor shaking his head.

“Well, _I_ like him,” Peter said.

“Nothing wrong with that. Just don’t get too attached, dude has a habit of, you know, _dying._ ”

“Tony!” Peter chided. Tony laughed and flicked a screw at him which he easily caught.

“It’s true and you know it,” Tony said with a grin. “He’s basically the boy who called death.”

“What does that make Thor?” Peter wondered.

“The annoyed older brother.” Tony offered, and Peter nodded in agreement. Their casual display got the attention of the class. “Should we invite the rest of the gawkers?” Tony asked in a hushed tone.

“Up to you, _Mr. Stark._ ” Peter had stopped calling Tony by his surname a few months after May had died. It had felt strange calling him “Mr. Stark” after the man had seen him at his worst and held him while he cried. He now only did it to annoy his mentor.

“Alright, Midtown, gather round!” The students all surrounded the benches before Tony and the suit. Peter rolled back to sit next to Ned who had pulled out a stool. “Ted, good to see you,” Tony said to Ned who flashed a peace sign. Tony kindly returned the gesture. “Okay, I’m not usually one for over interacting with people under the age of eighteen, but Pepper said I had to. So, questions?” Many hands shot up. Tony pointedly ignored Flash and called on Tiny.

“Is it true that you invited a terrorist to blow up your house?” Tiny asked and Tony took a mental step back. He locked eyes with Peter who waved him along, _Go on._

 _“Technically,”_ Tony said slowly. “I invited him _over_. I didn’t say ‘send missile here’, it was a communication problem. But something that I’ve always found interesting is that when that happened, and I was thought to be _dead_ , nobody came looking for me. I had an entire tower full of superheroes and not one.” Tony sighed dramatically. “That’s what you get when you befriend a bunch of narcissists. Next question.” This time Abe raised his hand. Tony nodded to him.

“Who trains the Avengers? Or do you guys train each other?” Peter thought it was a good question.

“Everyone helps everyone. Certain people can’t train with others due to extra abilities.” Tony explained. “For example,” he started as he walked around the room. Everyone’s eyes followed him. “Hawkeye and Widow train together because they have similar skills, but if Robin Hood were to train with, let’s say…Cap, Rogers wouldn’t be able to go full force. The super soldiers tend to work together and sometimes they help train the weirdos like Scarlet Witch and Ant-man.”

"What about Spider-Man?” Cindy asked. Tony smirked.

“The Spiderling is a weirdo too. He’s freakishly strong so he trains with Cap as well, but he and his fellow spider also tend to spar too. Basically, Natasha can take all of us down without even thinking about it.”

“Can Spider-Man really walk on ceilings?” Jason asked.

“I’ll let Pete answer that one, he works with him the most,” Tony said gesturing to Peter who was spinning slowly.

“What?” Peter said, distracted.

“Your classmate wants to know if Spider-Man can walk on ceilings, Mr. Parker,” Tony said adjusting his glasses.

“Oh, uh, yeah he can. His hands and feet are sticky, sort of, so he can stick to most surfaces.” Peter said, feeling weird describing himself. Even years later he wasn’t really sure what to label his spider-traits.

“Excellent clarification. Truly riveting.” Tony teased. Peter saluted. A hand shot up in the back and though he didn’t want to, Tony called on Flash.

“Mr. Stark, does Peter Parker really intern for you?” Peter thanked both of the gods he knew that Flash didn’t call him “Penis”. Tony’s face tightened as he identified the clear attempt to embarrass Peter. Tony leaned back against the bench, crossing his arms.

“I wouldn’t call it interning,” Tony said and Peter saw the smug face of Flash light up. “More like an apprenticeship.” The smugness faltered. “I mean he doesn’t get paid, but to be honest without him, this place would probably explode,” Tony said, his face thoughtful. “You know, its funny, Pete,” Tony said. “You’re considered an SI intern, but you don’t spend much time in the company.” Flash looked back to Peter with a smile. “I mean, I mostly just need you upstairs running ops.” Flash whirled on Tony.

“Peter runs Avengers missions?!” Flash blurted. Tony leveled a look at Flash.

“Well, what did you think he did? Got coffee? We have robots for that, kid.” Tony stood up straight and Peter knew that look. He rolled halfway behind MJ. “Let me explain something to all of you since you don’t see the need to listen to Peter.”

“Oh, no,” Peter whispered.

“Peter Parker is the brightest kid, no, person, that I have met in a _while._ I mean, he’s not in my league yet, but he will be. He’ll be better. When I offered him his position here almost two years ago, I brought him in because he deserved it. Not as a handout or because I was in need of good press. He has proved himself not only as a skilled scientist but one of the best people I know. And I am only going to say this once because if I say it twice it apparently becomes a threat.” Peter saw Stadler swallow. “If I hear of anymore bullying towards _my kid_ , from _anyone,”_ He directed his look to Flash in particular. “You will have a full army of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes knocking on your doorstep because that kid is family. And trust me when I say you don’t want an angry Bruce Banner telling you off because he’s even scarier than the big green guy.” Everyone was silent, and Peter was quietly slamming his head on the table. MJ, slid a book under his head to dull the sound further. “Alright, I think I’ve said my piece. Tour is over, F.R.I.D.A.Y., Ms. Collins, lead them out, will you?” Jo nodded and gestured for the class to follow her. Tony grabbed Peter by the arm and slung his arm around his shoulder. “I’ll be keeping this one if you don’t mind Teach.” Stadler frowned.

“He has to be picked up by a guardian.”

“And that would be me. I’m sure it's in your records. Bye-bye.” Tony waved with all fingers fluttering. Stadler pulled out his tablet and started scrolling as he followed Jo to the elevator. Ned and MJ raised their phones. He nodded that he’d text them later. Flash was still gawking as he stepped into the elevator, but Flash Thompson was the last thing on Peter’s mind right now.

Peter collapsed back against the wall as soon as the class was out of view. “Well, that was fun,” Tony said coming to stand in front of him. “Was that too much?”

“Little bit,” Peter admitted but gave him a small smile. “Did you mean it?” Tony placed his hands on his kid’s shoulders and Peter stood up straight.

“Every word. You, Peter Parker,” Tony poked his chest. “are pretty extraordinary.” Peter couldn’t help his grin or that he wrapped his arms around Tony and hugged him tightly.

“Thank you,” Peter said.

“For what?” Tony asked as they separated. Peter looked at Tony, the man who gave up so much to make the world a better place. Nearly his life at times. The man who fought aliens and saved people from flying cities. The man who took in an orphaned, genetically altered teenager because he was asked too and he cared for him. Yes, he was the great Tony Stark and the Invincible Iron Man, but to Peter, he was now the closest thing he had to a father. And he owed him so much.

“Everything.” Peter simply said. Tony gripped Peter by the back of the neck and then ruffled his hair.

“Come on, Spider-Man, let’s go find Thor,” Tony said pulling Peter from the lab. “I think he mentioned he was going to see a wizard?”

“Like an actual wizard? Was he drunk?” Peter asked.

“Man, I don’t know. Guy’s an alien, he gets confused.” Tony said.

“But what if there’s _actually_ a wizard?” Peter offered, his excitement growing.

“Come on! Wizards? In New York? That’s the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just love Tony and Peter so much. 
> 
> I didn't want to do an outright embarrassment of Flash as it's done a lot. Mostly, I just wanted for Tony to speak up about Peter. 
> 
> Also, I really like the nod to Stephen at the end there.
> 
> If you enjoyed this story, feel free to let me know of any other prompts you would like to see. 
> 
> Constructive criticism is welcomed, hate is not. 
> 
> DAD STEVE IS EVERYTHING. OKAY BYE.


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